Dwindle Distribution

Last updated

Dwindle Distribution
IndustrySkateboarding
Founders
Headquarters,
United States
ProductsSkateboards
Parent Transom Capital Group
Website dwindle.com

Dwindle Distribution is an American skateboarding distributor based in El Segundo, California. It is a component of Transom Capital Group Limited. [1] The company was founded by Steve Rocco and Rodney Mullen. Its formation is recognized as a key event in the creation of a skateboard company owned by people actively involved in the skateboarding lifestyle. [2]

Contents

History

While professional skateboarder Rodney Mullen was still a sponsored rider for the Powell-Peralta "Bones Brigade" team, Steve Rocco convinced Mullen to join him in the further development of what would become the first skater-owned skateboard company, World Industries. Mullen was forced to leave his place at Powell-Peralta as a result. He was also persuaded to continue professional skateboarding in the face of the declining popularity of his foundational discipline, freestyle skateboarding. Rocco has stated in an online documentary: "To me a business partner was anybody that, you know, just had excess cash, gullibility, and, ah, absenteeism—Rodney had all of those, and, ah, he bought out John Lucero for six thousand dollars and became a partner." [3]

Globe operates its own factory to manufacture the skateboards and trucks that it distributes under Dwindle. The DSM (Douglas Street Manufacturing) Premium Woodshop is located in Shenzhen, China, with Rodney Mullen closely involved in production practices from its inception. [4] DSM imports maple logs from Canada's Great Lakes region for the production of wooden skate decks. A 2013 TransWorld SKATEboarding article likened DSM's approach to the sourcing and treatment of wood: “as the sandwich shop that prepares all of their meat from the whole animal versus others who order their cuts from a wholesaler, DSM has the in-house butcher.” [5]

DSM was first publicly announced in 2003 and caused a widespread surprised reaction in the skateboard industry, as production had previously been solely based in North America; concern was raised about job losses. Globe CEO Matt Hill stated at the time: "When you get down to the labor issues, if we sell a lot more boards, then we'll create jobs here (in the U.S.A.), it'll open a lot more doors.” [6]

In 2015, Dwindle and Globe published the book Unemployable: 30 Years of Hardcore, Skate and Street [7] which included a chapter on Dwindle's history. [8] Launches were held in Melbourne [9] and Los Angeles. [10] [11]

Black Box Distribution

In 2014, skateboard distributor Black Box Distribution, owned by skateboarder Jamie Thomas, was dissolved and some of its brands were transferred to Dwindle. In a June 2014 interview with the Jenkem online publication, Thomas explained that Dwindle would take over "the sales, finance, production and distribution aspects" of the Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear brands. Thomas further explained that the brands' employees would remain independent and focus on "the team, marketing and creative aspects" of the brands. [12]

Management

As of April 2014, Hugh "Bod" Boyle is the president of Dwindle Distribution, and Steve Douglas is the vice president—both are former professional skateboarders. [13] [14] [15] Globe International sold Dwindle in 2019. [16]

Brands

Current

As of April 2021, the company distributes the following skateboard brands:

Former

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodney Mullen</span> American professional skateboarder

John Rodney Mullen is an American professional skateboarder who practices freestyle skateboarding and street skateboarding. He is considered one of the most influential skateboarders of all time. Mullen is credited for inventing numerous tricks, including the flatground ollie, kickflip, heelflip, impossible, and 360-flip. As a result, he has been called the "Godfather of modern freestyle skating."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daewon Song</span> American skateboarder

Daewon Song is an American professional skateboarder. He is the co-founder and co-owner of Almost Skateboards and Thank You Skateboards, and continues to skate for the latter company. Song was named the 2006 "Skater of the Year" by Thrasher magazine, an award that is widely considered to be one of the most significant honors in skateboarding.

Circa is a skateboard footwear and apparel company founded in 1999 that is based in San Clemente, California. The brands first pros were Chad Muska and Jamie Thomas. It is distributed in Europe by Option Distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Way</span> American professional skateboarder

Danny Way is an American professional skateboarder and business person. He has been awarded Thrasher magazine's "Skater of the Year" award twice. He is known for extreme stunts, such as jumping into a skateboard ramp from a helicopter; that was featured on the cover of Transworld Skateboarding magazine. One of his more notable stunts was jumping the Great Wall of China on a skateboard via megaramp.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">World Industries</span> American skateboarding company

World Industries is an American skateboarding company that offers skateboarding products, accessories and clothing. The company was founded by Steve Rocco in 1987. In 1988, Rocco was joined by skater, Rodney Mullen, and then Mike Vallely in 1989. As of 2014, World Industries operates under GVS America, a subsidiary of INA Sports Inc. & FGL Sports Ltd. The company also makes and sells longboards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Sheckler</span> American professional skateboarder (born 1989)

Ryan Allen Sheckler is an American professional skateboarder and entrepreneur, and the star of the MTV-produced reality television series Life of Ryan, which ran from 2007 to 2009. He also starred in four seasons of the short-format video series Sheckler Sessions on Red Bull TV. Sheckler was listed in Fox Weekly's "15 Most Influential Skateboarders of All-Time" article.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enjoi</span> Skateboard products manufacturer

Enjoi is a skateboarding company that specialises in producing skateboard decks as the brand's primary product; the company also manufactures skateboarding accessories and clothing. The company distributed by Dwindle Distribution, has since been known for its humorous and satirical designs and has adopted a stylised panda as its logo. Enjoi was founded in 2000 by Marc Johnson and Rodney Mullen. Their headquarters is situated in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Globe International</span> Australian surf and skateboard footwear and apparel manufacturer

Globe International Ltd. is an Australian footwear, clothing, and skateboard hardware company. It was founded in 1985 by three Australian brothers. Globe International's core business is divided between proprietary brands, licensed brands, and distributed brands. The company's international offices are located in Melbourne, Los Angeles, Newport Beach and San Diego, U.S.; Hossegor, France; and Shenzhen, China. It is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.

Jamie Thomas is an American professional skateboarder and skateboard industry entrepreneur. Thomas is the owner and founder of Zero Skateboards and Fallen Footwear, until he announced its closure in January 2017. Thomas' nickname in the skateboard industry is "The Chief".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zero Skateboards</span> American skateboard company

Zero Skateboards is a skateboard company located in Carlsbad, California, United States. The brand was founded by professional skateboarder and entrepreneur Jamie Thomas, and distributed by his Black Box Distribution company. In late June 2014, Thomas announced that the brand would be distributed by the Dwindle Distribution company, based in El Segundo, California. Subsequently, in 2016, Thomas and Dwindle announced that Zero Skateboards would be operated independently by Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Cole (skateboarder)</span> American skateboarder

James Chris Cole is an American professional skateboarder. As of September 2020, his sponsors are Fallen Footwear, Monster Energy, Bones Bearings, Cult Crew, Thunder Trucks, Spitfire Wheels, Stance, Kershaw Knives, Grizzly Griptape, GoPro, Indian Motorcycles, cbdMD, Remind Insoles, and most recently Zero Skateboards.

Tum Yeto is a skateboard distribution company that operates out of San Diego, California, United States (U.S.).

Rick McCrank is a Canadian professional skateboarder and skate shop owner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tensor Trucks</span> Skateboarding truck company

Tensor Trucks is a skateboarding truck company founded and designed by professional skateboarder, Rodney Mullen, in 2000. Tensor's parent company is Dwindle Distribution. The company offers trucks in three different heights that are tailored for different wheel diameters—the hi is designed for 58mm wheels and smaller; the mid for 54mm or smaller; and the lo for 52mm and smaller. Mullen holds US patent no. 6,443,471B1 for design features implemented in Tensors. Tensor's trucks are manufactured in China.

Black Box Distribution was a skateboard distributor owned by professional skateboarder Jamie Thomas. Prior to October 2014, it served seven brands, three of which were owned by Thomas: Fallen Footwear, Mystery Skateboards, and Zero Skateboards. After the company was dissolved, Zero and Fallen moved to Dwindle Distribution.

Ronnie Aaron Creager is a "goofy-footed" American professional skateboarder from Orange, California.

Steve Douglas is a retired professional skateboarder and longtime employee of the skateboard industry from London, United Kingdom (UK). Since April 2014, he has been the Vice President (VP) of Dwindle Distribution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plan B Skateboards</span> Skateboard company

Plan B Skateboards is a skateboarding company based in San Diego California, United States, founded by Mike Ternasky, Danny Way and Colin McKay. PlanB has been manufacturing and selling premium skateboard hard goods and apparel since 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Lutzka</span> American skateboarder

Greg Lutzka is a "goofy-footed" professional skateboarder

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cliché Skateboards</span> Skateboard company based in Lyon, France

Cliché Skateboards was a skateboard company based in Lyon, France, and distributed by the American company Dwindle Distribution. The company was established in 1997 by French professional skateboarder Jeremie Daclin. In 2001, Cliché was purchased by the France-based Salomon Group which in 2005 became a part of Amer Sports. In 2009, US-based Dwindle Distribution purchased the company from the Salomon Group. In November 2016, Dwindle announced that they would be discontinuing the brand.

References

  1. Tiffany Montgomery (August 30, 2019). "Exclusive: Steve Lake and Bod Boyle Talk Dwindle Acquisition". Shop Eat Surf. Shop Eat Surf. Retrieved October 26, 2020.
  2. lloyd (June 3, 2012). "The Man Who Souled The World". On-Point. On-Point. Archived from the original on January 2, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  3. fasdgrefgagsdasdgasd (June 22, 2006). "Rodney Mullen Bio Pt 2" (Video upload). YouTube. Google, Inc. Archived from the original on December 19, 2021. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  4. 30shot (September 2012). "DSM Video" (Video upload). 30shot on Vimeo. Vimeo LLC. Retrieved September 19, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. Luke Callahan (November 2013). "Tested Development". TransWorld SKATEboarding. 31 (11). Grind Media, LLC: 84–97. ISSN   0748-7401.
  6. "Dwindle Makes Moves". TransWorld Skateboarding. GrindMedia. January 27, 2004. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  7. Jason Boulter (December 2015). Unemployable: 30 Years of Hardcore, Skate and Street. Port Melbourne: Thames & Hudson Australia Pty Ltd. p. 708. ISBN   9780500500637. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  8. Eloise Mahoney (December 4, 2015). "Unemployable: the story of skating success". Desktop Magazine. Niche Media Pty Ltd. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  9. Robert Brown (November 2015). "Interview: Rodney Mullen on being unemployable". ACCLAIM. ACCLAIM Magazine Pty Ltd. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  10. Joe Hammeke (October 30, 2015). ""Unemployable" Book Release Party Photos". Thrasher Magazine. High Speed Productions, Inc. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  11. Jan Kliewer (November 12, 2015). "Chris Haslam On The Launch Of Globe's UnEmployable Book". Kingpin Skateboarding. Factory Media. Retrieved February 9, 2016.
  12. Ian Michna (June 2014). "THE FUTURE OF ZERO & FALLEN WITH JAMIE THOMAS". Jenkem. Jenkem. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  13. "A Skate Warehouse Day at Dwindle Distribution". Skate Warehouse on YouTube. Google Inc. April 22, 2014. Archived from the original (Video upload) on April 23, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  14. "Hugh "Bod" Boyle". Skately. Skately LLC. 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  15. "Steve Douglas". Skately. Skately LLC. 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  16. Simon Evans (August 23, 2019). "Globe offloads skate brand, issues trade war warning". The Australian Financial Review. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
  17. "Heritage". Dwindle Distribution. Retrieved March 19, 2021.
  18. "Company site". Dwindle Distribution. Dwindle Distribution. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  19. skately (2012). "A-Team Skateboards". skately. Skately LLC. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  20. toms skateshop (May 8, 2009). "City stars back in the game". Toms skateshop Amsterdam. Toms skateshop Amsterdam. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  21. Chris Oldfield (June 25, 2007). "Media and ASX Release Globe announces the sale of World Industries" (PDF). Globe Corporate. Globe International. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 7, 2012. Retrieved May 25, 2012.
  22. Ian Michna (April 13, 2016). "Jamie Thomas on the demise of Fallen Footwear". Jenkem Magazine. Jenkem Magazine. Retrieved August 12, 2016.